Battered
by AmeNeko
Summary: Rena survives her beating from Keiichi, and tries once more to regain his trust. Keiichi/Rena


**Out of the two Higurashi one-shots I was planning, this was the first. Its kind of takes place in that "what if" category; if Rena survived being "killed" by Keiichi, how would she try and regain his trust? Would she succeed. Just read the story!**

**Disclaimer; I don't own Higurashi, Rena, Hinamizawa, Hinamizawa Syndrome, or any other characters, elements, or places in this story. I only own the story. Steal the story, you'll take a tazer to the throat.**

**ooooooooo**

Battered

A Higurashi one-shot

**ooooooooo**

Keiichi Maebara gave a huge gasp and drew himself backwards, and gazed in both horror and indifference at the spectacle of his deed before him.

His best friends…Rena Ryuguu…Mion Sonozaki…they were both dead. Killed by his hand…or rather, a baseball bat that wasn't even his.

Keiichi tightened his grip on the metal baseball bat, but it slipped and fell, the blood covering the deadly weapon making it too slick to hold anymore. Blood covering everywhere, actually…his arms, his chest, his legs, his face, the room, Mion, Rena…there was blood everywhere.

_Mion was a good friend; she was a fun and passionate person, who and everyday more entertaining than the last._

_Rena was the sweetest thing; she adored cute things, and loved all her friends…even me, though I was the new kid, with a wrong committed back home._

_Yet I killed them…I…I…_

Keiichi's thoughts were jumbled and forced, as if his mind was refusing to feel anything too complicated. But this was complicated…too complicated for Keiichi to know what to do. The teenager was confused, sad, angry, and indifferent. All these emotions were rushing all around, swirling in his body, making his blood turn both hot and cold with rage and realization of murder, and his legs turn to jelly and stone, as if he wanted to collapse and stay there forever. He wanted to scream in terror yet he wanted to stay silent in horror. He wanted to cry in heartache, yet he wanted to laugh with the sheer incredulity of the whole situation. He wanted to flee from the crime, to run away from the crisis, yet wanted to fall to his knees and sleep, as if slumber would chase this horrible nightmare away.

At last, all the turmoil crushed him, and Keiichi fell to his knees, and his blue eyes sparkled with tears. His mouth opened, and short, gasping breaths, as if constricting his sobs on anguish, or the urge to vomit at the ghastly sight before him.

At last, he dared another look at the bodies before him. Keiichi regretted the choice immediately, because he found himself unable to look away.

Mion was thrown against the wall, blood gathering at her head, as if he had cracked it, and her sides and arms were caked with crimson liquor.

Rena was on her side, back facing him, but blood was clearly dribbling off her head and flanks, and a puddle of red continued to grow under her.

…Were her sides moving…like breathing…?

No. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Or was it true? Keiichi found himself debating whether or not to check. If she was alive, she may hate him, report him, or be terrified of him. If she was dead, he risked crushing his hopes, and might see her mangled face, smashed by the lethal blows by the baseball bat.

"N…no…noooooo…"

The soft moan of grief overwhelmed Keiichi. His heart felt like it was going to fall out of his chest. If it did, it would have fallen to the bloodstained carpet, in several pieces, flesh deepening the red stains.

There were cries from the window, and he crawled over to it. His eyes peeped over the sill, and saw what was outside.

_Strangers…in white lab coats…?_

_Its has to be this "Director"…! They've come for me!_

Fear washed over Keiichi, killing every other emotion. If he was caught by the Director, there would certainly be consequences…!

At last, Keiichi stood up, and decided he would flee, and report everything to Ooishi…_Yes…if I report everything to Ooshi, turn myself in…it'll…all be okay…_

He walked over to his desk, gait uneven and lost. _But first…first…_

oooooooooo

Rena restrained her breath as Keiichi grieved, and dared a small breath as he crawled to the window. Fear and sadness consumed her. Keiichi was obviously upset over his crime; he was innocent. Keiichi had obviously gotton the wrong idea from so many lies and secrets…the "needle", the decapitating murder, Oyashiro's Curse…

The teenager felt a twinge of sorrow as she thought of her poor friend, Mion, slain by their best friend. She had teasingly pressed the marker to his wrist, planning on writing "under par" with a happy face, to make fun of Keiichi's illness, but Keiichi's hand was holding Satoshi's baseball bat, and he lashed out and slammed Mion on the face. Mion, caught by total surprise, was thrown to the ground, and Keiichi, instead of apologizing, jumped up and hit her again, making the older girl whine in pain.

It had taken Rena a few seconds to realize that Keiichi wasn't trying to play or hurt; he was _killing_ Mion; she had tried to make him stop, grab the baseball bat, his wrist, _something_, but Keiichi's blows were redirected to her.

Rena was overcome with upset upon Keiichi's sudden behavior, but it was replaced by despondency when she saw his eyes.

Keiichi's usually happy and glowing blue eyes, like the ocean before the bright sun, were dark and wild. They were a dark, dim azure shade, like the sky right before the sun vanishes forever. Keiichi wasn't right in the head…at all.

Rena didn't even feel his next few strikes. She didn't see his subsequent attacks on Mion. Her body was refusing to send any messages of pain to her body, and her eyes were seeing red and blue, in both blood and tears. It wasn't until Keiichi knocked her to the ground, when she felt the pain. A lot of pain.

But the usually soft teenager willed herself to sit up, and her eyes and head cleared. Her arms were aching and bloody, probably broken, and her enture body was on fire. But she ignored it all.

Keiichi's wild eyes met hers, and he lifted the bat again, preparing to strike. Rena's eyes flitted to Mion. Her heart sank at once; the older girl was dead.

"Keiichi…why can't you please stop? Please, can you trust us? Please, Kei'…" she said, and her voice was stronger then she thought it would be.

"Why should I; you guys have been keepings things from me, secrets, lies, and you've tried to kill me! Why should I trust you?!"

Keiichi's snarl echoed in Rena's mind, and yet she merely lifted her arms, as one would do to someone to catch them as they fall.

"Its okay, Keiichi…Trust us!" she called, allowing a comforting smile to form on her face, trying to comfort Keiichi…

The bat came down on her face, and everything went black for a few moments. But she was conscious quickly, and felt her body panging with the more clouts Keiichi gave her with the bat, and from the dull thuds, he was beating the dead Mion as well.

Rena closed her blood filled eyes, and quietly took it. If Keiichi would trust them this way…maybe it was worth it.

After a while, Keiichi stopped. Rena ached everywhere, she wanted to pass out into blissful oblivion, but she focused herself to staying alive…for now.

The scribbling sound in the quiet bloodied room broke through the silence like a claw slashing through the air. Rena dared herself another breath. This one came out louder then she intended, regrettably, and the scribbling sound stopped.

Rena held her breath fearfully, and heard Keiichi's footsteps approaching her. If she didn't have the control she had over her body, she would have been shaking with fear.

Keiichi fell on his knees, and set a hand on her shoulder. It was warmer then she thought it would be, and the teenager resisted the urge to blush.

The hand moved to her side. Rena willed it to be still.

Keiichi was fooled, and a soft whine that grew to a cry of anguish erupted out of him. He buried his face into her flank, and allowed his tears to spill everywhere, soaking where they fell.

Rena shut her eyes tightly, and decided to take a chance; she took a breath.

Keiichi stirred, and she kept breathing, her heart hammering in her chest. Keiichi gently turned her over onto her back, and set her on his knees.

Exhaustion suddenly overcame Rena, and her body sagged with pain. The effort it took to open her eyes shocked her eyes, but when she did, she was glad she had.

Keiichi's tear stained eyes, now back to their shining cerulean instead of the darker, angrier shade, lit up, and despite the tears still rolling down his face, joy was clear as the sky.

The tears welled up faster and Rena swallowed, wincing at the taste of blood that rolled down her throat, and smiled weakly at Keiichi. "Kei…ichi…you…trust me…?" she asked, the words painful to say.

Keiichi's eyes widened, and began sobbing uncontrollably, unable to say a word. Rena sat up as best as she could, and wrapped her arms around her friend's neck, whispering softly words of comfort.

Rena felt herself begin to fade, and hugged Keiichi tighter, and murmured softly in his ear, "Keiichi…do you trust me…?"

The reply was choked with tears and sadness. "Y-y…es…s…"

She smiled in response and cuddled him gently. "C…can I take you home with me…?"

"…Mm…?"

Rena nuzzled his cheek tenderly. "Because…you're so adowable when you cry…I wanna take you home with me…"

Her heartbeat was faint. Keiichi hugged her tightly, tears rolling even faster down his face. "Yes, Rena…you can take me home…please…"

The peaceful smile never wavered, and she buried her face into his chest. "Keiichi…let's both go home…with Mion…"

Keiichi nodded in response, and a pounding on the door didn't startle him in the slightest. He smirked at it, and rubbed Rena's head. "Yes…Rena…"

"I'm…" Rena's serene expression made the whole world seem at ease. "I'm really glad…Keiichi…"

She closed her eyes one last time, and took one final breath. Then no more. She looked as though she was in slumber. Deep peaceful slumber, her arms wrapped around Keiichi, as he was her latest adorable article added to her large collection.

oooooooooo

**Me; That turned out cuter and more depressing then I thought. Notes!**

**It's a Rena/Keiichi fanfiction, thus I added adorable fluff to make your heart melt. I felt that if it was centered around Rena, it would have to have some. Adowable, much?**

**Seeing that Keiichi was infected with Hinamizawa Syndrome at the time, he was distrusting. But if he was comforted by a close friend, he would hopefully come to his senses. Rena did that in the Atonement arc; Keiichi gave her reassurance, and she dropped to Level 5 to Level 2. **

**I'm truthfully not sure if all the facts in this one-shot are completely correct; I was relying totally on memory. So if some things don't make a lot of sense, well, I'm sorry ^^'. Don't flame for that, please; it takes place in an alternate universe, after all.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, guys~**

**Rena; Please review! She looks sooooo cute when she's happy 'cause she has some!**


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